Computing registering mechanism for liquid dispensing apparatus



Aug. 17, 1937.

c. K. SCHWARTZ COMPUTING REGISTERING MECHANISM FOR LIQUID DISPENSINGAPPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 6, 1954 FIGZ.

Aug. 17, 1937. c. K. SCHWARTZ COMPUTING REGISTERING MECHANISM FOR LIQUIDDISPENSING APPARATUS I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 6, 1954 Patented Aug.17, 1937 UNITED STATES FATE/NT orrlcs COMPUTING REGISTERING MECHANISMFOR. LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Application November 6, 1934, SerialNo. 751,675

4 Claims.

My invention is particularly applicable to metering pumps for dispensinggasolene. The volume of gasolene dispensed is usually measured ingallons and fractions of a gallon and the price 5 thereof varies perunit of volume. The purpose and effect of my invention is to providemeans for displaying the current price and computing and registering thevalue of the volume of liquid dispensed in accordance with that price;the connection between the dispensing mechanism and the computingmechanism being manually variable in accordance with variations in suchprice. The principal object and effect of, my invention is to provideinterlocking means so connecting the price displaying means with thevalue computing means that the value is computed in precise accordancewith the price displayed.

In the form of my invention illustrated, said computing mechanism isactuated by a member 9 driven in definite relation to the volume ofliquid dispensed, and conveniently a rotary member of a flow meterthrough which the liquid is dispensed, and the computing mechanism isconnected with registering mechanism visibly indion eating to thecustomer both the volume and the value 01' the liquid dispensed.

! As hereinafter described, the computing mechanism includes a conicalassemblage of gears of diilerent sizes respectively corresponding with30 the price in cents per unit of volume of liquid dispensed and amovable gear connects the meter mechanism of the dispensing apparatuswith any selected one of said conical assemblage of price gears. Amanually rotary indicating device for 35 displaying the price carries agear pinion continually in mesh with a rack, which rack carries guidemeans continuously engaging said movable gear and determining theposition of that gear with respect to the conical assemblage -of gears.

9 so that said movable gear'is always presented in cooperative relationwith the price gear corresponding with the price displayed by saidrotary indicating means, throughout the range of vari which presentnumbers at the window openings in the casing indicated in Fig. I.

Fig. III is a left hand side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig.II.

Fig. IV is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through the upper oneof the two knobs shown in Figs. I, II, and III by which the dials may bemanually set back to zero position. I

Referring to Fig. I, the liquid dispensing apparatus is principallycontained in a housing 19 which is adapted to he rigidly mounted upon apavement or a platform at a curb or driveway and includes the basemember 2, the intermediate member 2, and the top member 3. Said housingincludes a sheet metal casing 6, extending between said framemembers land 2 and the sheet metal casing 6 extending between said members 2 and3. Both are conveniently substantially rectangular.

The liquid to be dispensed is conveniently stored in an undergroundtank'through which it is elevated through the pipe 5 by the operation ofthe purnp'8. Said pump includes a rotor having the shaft 9 carrying thepulley to connected by the belt l2 with the pulley it on the armatureshaft H of the electric motor 85 which is conveniently mounted on saidcasing 5. The liquid is dis- 5 charged from said pump it through theconduit i 8 into the flow meter ill from which it is discharged throughthe conduit i9 into the flexible dispensing hose 20 which may be.provided at its free end with a nozzle it including a valve 28' which isnormally closed but may be opened by the dispensing operator.

Said conduit it includes the. valve 22 which. when the liquid pressurebetween the pump 8 and the discharge nozzle exceeds a predeterminedamount will open automatically to permit the es-' cape of the liquidthrough the by-pass conduit 23 back to the subjacent tank. 4e

Said fiow meter ll includes a rotor which is turned by the passage ofliquid therethrough from said conduit i8 through said conduit is and hasthe shaft 24 which makes one revolution for each gallon of liquid passedthrough said meter. id rotor shaft 2% has the cross pin 25 engagingellametrically opposite s ot coupling 2%. Said coupling is o w lower endoi the shaft 2i which i the frame of ti: anism. as shown i...

As shown in l said shaft 2?] has, rigidly connected with the upper endthereoi, the bevel gear 3i engaging the bevel gear which is rigidlyconnected with the sleeve 33. Sold sleeve the meter l1.

33 is mounted so that it may be turned upon the shaft 34, but isnormally frictionally engaged with said shaft so as to turn the latterone revolution for each gallon of liquid dispensed through Suchengagement iseifected by the spring 35 which thrusts said sleeve axiallyagainst the friction washer 36 which is interposed between the left handend of said sleeve 33 and the abutment collar 3! which is rigidlyconnected with said shaft 34, conveniently by the pin 38. Said shaft 34has, at the right hand end thereof ,in Fig. III, the knob 49 which isrigidly connected therewith, conveniently by the pin 41-. Said knob isconveniently made integral with the gear pinion 42 and the dial 43. Asindicated in Fig. II, said dial 63 has acircular series of graduations44 indicating fractions of a gal- I ion; the entire series representingone gallon of liquid dispensed for each revolution of said shaft 0 34.Said gear pinion 42 engages the gear teeth on the periphery of the dial45 which is ten times the pitch diameter of said pinion 42. Said dial45, which is loosely journaled on the stationary stud shaft 46 carriedby said frame 29, has a circular series of graduations 41 representingten gallons, so that each revolution of said shaft 34, effected by thedispensation of one gallon of liquid through said meter l1, turns saiddial 45 one-tenth of a revolution from one gallon mark to the next insaid series.

Said sleeve 33 being held stationaryby its engagement with the rotor ofthe meter ll between dispensing operations; said dials 43 and 45 may bemanually reset to zero position with re spect to the windows 48 and 49in the casing I member 8 by manual rotation .of said knob l overcomingthe frictional engagement of said sleeve with said friction washer 36.

Y Said sleeve 33 has, at the right hand end there- :40 of in Fig. III,the gear 5| engaging the gear 52,

of the same pitch diameter, which is rigidly connected with the shaft53, conveniently by the pin 54 and forms part of the value computingmechanism. Said shaft 53 is journaled in said frame 29 and preventedfrom axial movement therein by the shoulder which engages the left handside of said frame 29 and the hub 58 of said gear; 52 which engages theright hand side of said frame. Y

5 Said shaft 53 is turned one revolution for each gallon of liquiddispensed through said meter H by the above described connection of themeter member 24, and has, rigidly connected therewith, an assemblage oftwenty-four gears of 55 different sizes respectively corresponding withdifferent prices of the liquid dispensed. For instance, the gear 58represents the price of ten cents per gallon and the gear 59 representsthe price of thirty-three cents per gallon; the suc- 60 cessive gearsdiffering from each other to the amount of one cent per gallon.

The means for indicating the computed value of the liquid dispensedincludes the dial 6| which is provided with a circular series ofgraduations 62 representing one hundred cents. Said dial is rigidlyconnected with the knob 63 which is rigidly connected with the sleeve64- joumaled in the right hand-side member of said frame 29, as

'shown in Figs. III and IV. Said sleeve 64 has the gear pinion 65 formedthereon engaging the teeth on the periphery of the dial 86 which, asshown in Fig. II, has a circular series of graduations '61 representingten dollars. The construction and arrangement are such that when saiddial 6| is turned one revolution to represent the indicated in Fig. I

Said sleeve '64 is in coaxial relation with the shaft H which isjournaled at its right hand end in said sleeve and at its left hand endin the left hand side member of said frame 29. Said sleeve 64 iscontinually frictionally engaged with said shaft II by the clutch spring12 interposed between them in the recess 13, as shown in Fig. IV,

so that said dials 6i and 66 are normally turned as if said dial 6| wererigidly connected with said shaft 'II but said dials may be reset tozero position by manually turning said knob -63.

Said shaft H is cut to form a long gear pinion l5 and provided withaxially adjustable connecting gearing continually engaging said pinionand adapted to be selectively engaged with any one of said series ofsaid price gears from 58 to 59 inclusive. I find it convenient toprovide said price gear 58, which represents ten cents, with ten teeth,and to provide said long pinion 15 with ten teeth, and said connectinggearing is so proportioned that when the shaft 53 carrying said gear 58is turned one revolution representing dispensation of one gallon ofliquid at a value of ten cents, said pinion I5 and dial 6! connectedtherewith are turned one-tenth of a revolution to compute and registerthe .value of ten cents worth of liquid dispensed.

Said connecting gearing is carried by the swin frame 17 having thebearing 18 encircling said pinion I5 and free for oscillation and axialmovement thereon, so that said gearing may be selectively connected withany one of said twenty-four price gears from 58 to 59 inclusive. Saidconnecting gearing includes the gear continually in mesh with saidpinion I5 and journaled on the shaft 8| which is fixed in said frame 11.Said gear 80 is continually in mesh with the pinion 82 which is rigidlyconnected with the gear 83 journaled on the shaft 84 which is fixed insaid frame 11. Said gear 83 is continually in mesh with the pinion 85which is fixed on the shaft 86 which is journaled in said frame TI andcarries at its left hand end the gear 81 which may be manuallyselectively engaged with any one of said series of twenty-four pricegears by swinging said frame to the right in Fig. 11 and sliding itaxially upon said pinion 15 to the desired position.

In order to cooperatively and permanently connect said swing frame 11with means for indicating the current price of the. liquid dispensed toinsure that the computation of the value of 'the liquid dispensed shallbe made in accordance with the price displayed; I provide the bearing 18of said frame 11 with the blade 88 which is free to oscillate betweenthe bifurcations of the guide 89 on the rack 98; its oscillation beinglimited by the'stops 9i and 92 at the'respectively opposite ends of saidblade, which prevent disconnection of said swing frame from the priceindicating mechanism while permitting the desired range of oscillationof said frame. Said rack 99 is of rectangular cross section and pushfitted to reciprocate in its bearing fixed on said frame 29 as shown andcontinually in mesh with the gear 93 on the lower end of the shaft 94which is journaled in the bearing 95 on said frame 29. Said shaft 94has, rigidly connected with the upper end thereof, the current pricedisplay dial 936 which serves as a hand wheel by which said rack 90 maybe adjusted and has a circular series of graduations 91 upon itscylindrical surface respectively identified with numbers representingseries of price gears and marked to indicate the price represented byeach of said twenty-four gears 58 to 59 inclusive.

The construction and arrangement above de-" scribed are such that whenit is desired to change the price displayed, the operator swings theframe ll to the right in Fig. II clear of the price gears 58 to 59inclusive and then turns the price dial 95 to display the selected priceat the window 98. Such movement shifts the guide 89, by therack 90, tobring the selector gear .81 in registry with the corresponding pricegear on the shaft 53. The friction of said rack 99 in its bearing issufficient to hold said dial 96 against accidental displacement from anyposition to which it is manually adjusted. Upon then releasing saidswing frame 11, the gear 81 engages the price gear on the shaft 53corresponding with the current price displayed, and said price dial 95and the connecting gearing are held in such adjusted position by saidguide 89 and rack 90, so that operation of the apparatus to dispenseliquid efiects computation and registration and display of the totalvalue of the volume of the liquid dispensed, at the price displayed onthe dial 95, through the window 98. That total value is displayedrespectively in dollars and cents at said windows '69 and 68 shown inFig. I.

Preparatory to each dispensing operation, the operator-sets the dials43, '45 to zero position by manually turning the knob 4|]. The dials BIand 66 are also manually set to'zero position by tuming the knob 63. Theconstruction and arrangement are such that said knobs may be turned ineither direction but it is most convenient to turn the knob 40 clockwiseand the knob 63 counterclockwise. Thereupon, to initiate a dispensingoperation, the electric motor l5 may be started by manual operation ofthe switch I90 and the dispensing operation initiated by manuallyopening the nozzle valve 2|. The dispensing operation is terminated bythe operator releasing said' valve 2| to permit it to return to itsnormal closed position. If the operator permits the motor l5 tocontinueto operate, the abnormal pressure of the liquid discharged fromthe pump 8 into the conduit l6 opens the valve 22 and permits the liquidto escape through the by-pass 23 back to the subjacent tank and thusprevent rupture of 9 may be stopped by opening the switch N10. Thecurrent price, volume 'of liquid dispensed, and total value thereofbeing displayed on the front of the apparatus through the windows asindicated in Fig. I may be readily observed by the customer and, uponcompletion of the sale, the operator restores the dials to zero positionby turning said knobs 40 and 53 as above described.

Although, for convenience of illustration, 1 have indicated the currentprices in whole cents, it is to be understood that fractional numbersmay be employed with corresponding price gears. Moreover, I do notdesire to limit myself to the precise details of construction andarrangement herein set forth, as it is obvious that variousmodifications may be made therein without departing from the essentialfeatures of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with acoaxial group of gears of respectively different diameters, of a pinionhaving its axis parallel with the axis of said group and extending fromend to end of said group; a swing frame journaled on said pinion; atrain of gears carried by said swing frame one of which is continuallyengaged with said pinion and another of which gears is adapted forselective engagement with any one of said group of gears; a bladeprojecting from said swing frame; a gear rack carrying a guide forcontinual engagement with said swing frame blade in any position ofoscillation of said frame; means supporting said rack for movementparallel with the axis of said pinion; a gear continually engaged withsaid rack and having its axis extending transversely to the axis of saidpinion; a shaft rigidly connected with said rack gear; a dial rigidlyconnected with said shaft and provided with a circular series ofnumbers; whereby, movement of said swing frame to selective engagementwith any one of the gears in said group effects longitudinal movement ofsaid rack and rotary movement of said dial, and indicates by acorresponding number on said dial which of the gears in said group hasbeen selectively engaged.

2. Mechanism as in claim 1; wherein said pinion carries a dial providedwith a circular series of graduations for indicating the rotary positionof the pinion.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1; wherein a dial provided with a circularseries of graduations, is provided with gear teeth at its periphery inmesh with said pinion; whereby, the extent of rotation of said pinion isindicated by said graduations.

4. Apparatus as in claim 1; wherein said pinion carries a dial providedwith a circular series of graduations for indicating the rotary positionof ,the pinion; and a dial provided with a circular series ofgraduations is provided with gear teeth at its periphery in mesh withsaid pinion; whereby, the extent of rotation of said pinion is indicatedby said graduations.

CARL K. SCHWARTZ.

